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Monday, January 2, 2017

Review & Giveaway - The To-Do List by Sharon Struth

The To-Do List

by Sharon Struth

GENRE: romantic
comedy/suspense

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Maggie Harris has her ultra-organized life well in hand, until
she finds her neighbor and husband together, in her bed, and the tight hold she
keeps on her world unravels, leaving her grasping for an escape. So how can she
refuse when she’s handed the dream job of running her aunt’s bookstore and a
chance for a fresh start? Even though the bookstore is in Brockport,
Connecticut, her former hometown, and a place she’d vowed to leave behind
forever.

When someone breaks into Maggie’s new business and
leaves a threat on the wall, Detective Cooper Stanton is assigned the case.
It’s been twenty years, but Coop hasn’t forgotten the way Maggie once charmed
him at every turn—even with her controlling ways. This time, though, Coop
refuses to let her seize the reins. What he doesn’t know is she plans to grab
them anyway…and she’s got a secret she never shared.

The
smooth, baritone voice stopped her mid-stroke. She’d never forgotten it. It
belonged to someone she’d thought had moved far away from Brockport. Someone
she’d hoped never to see again.

He
cleared his throat. “Is this your dog?”

Maggie
slowly turned around. Her mouth went dry at the sight of Cooper Stanton. A man
she’d once believed she loved. A man who’d rejected her.

“What
are you doing here?”

Roxy
strained to get away while he held her collar.

“Nice to
see you, too.” Coop’s lips wavered but didn’t reach a smile.

Cool and
distant. Same as the last time they’d been together, a night filled with
passion and anger.

She
stepped down the ladder. Hadn’t he moved away from town with hopes of becoming
a major league baseball star, a promise to put their small town on the map? She
landed on the scattered newspapers, avoiding the splattered paint.

Roxy
whimpered. Coop crouched at the dog’s side, keeping a firm grip on the
chocolate colored mix while he whispered words of assurance. He stroked the
dog’s torso, his hand no longer that of a teenage boy, but of a grown man, the
fingers long and sturdy with strong veins.

“So?”
Coop pried his adoring eyes off the canine and glanced at Maggie. “Is she yours
or should I keep looking for the owner?”

At the
sound of his voice, Roxy flipped back her head and dragged a saliva-coated
tongue across his cheek. He grinned. Coop always did like promiscuous women.

“Yes.
She’s mine.” Maggie brushed aside a few stray wisps of hair near her face,
worked free from a plastic headband, escaping like the decades-old hurt now
ripping at her heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Review:

Maggie Harris is a super-organized individual. After dumping her unfaithful husband Ben, the newly divorced Maggie moves with her daughter to the hometown where she grew up. She's inherited her aunt's bookstore but she swore she would never go back because of a broken heart over a badly ended high school romance with Cooper, Coop, Stanton. Well, he was part of the past and now the bookstore is her future. Coop is a really great guy. He still agonizes over the past with Maggie and the hurt he caused her but he is a man now. Can these two get over the past and move on? But there are dark forces as work here. Maggie must make the bookstore a success and her ex-husband, a bully, has make sure she would be afraid not to. Her cousin has a stake in making sure she fails as well. Can she get past all the people who want to destroy her and her future? Dispite the anxiety over Maggie's trials and having a special fondness for OCD persons aside, I truly enjoyed this good sit-on-the-couch romance love story read. 3.75 stars ~JoEllen~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Bestselling
author Sharon Struth believes you’re never too old to pursue a dream. When
she’s not writing, she and her husband happily sip their way through the scenic
towns of the Connecticut Wine Trail.

The Hourglass (Etopia
Press), her debut novel, is a finalist in the National Readers' Choice Awards
for Best First Book and winner of the Chatelaine Award For Romantic Fiction.
Her follow-up release, Share the Moon (Kensington Publishing) is a
Barnes & Noble Romance Bestseller. The series also includes Twelve
Nights (11/15), Harvest Moon (12/15) and Bella
Luna (2016).

She writes from Bethel,
Connecticut, the friendliest place she’s ever lived along with her husband and
dogs. For more information, including where to find her books and published
essays, please visit www.sharonstruth.com